We spent the first 8 days with Scott's twin brother Chris, his wife Tara and three kids, along with Scott and Chris's parents. We had a great time and it was very special to see Addy interact with her cousins. Then we finished up with 3 mellow days with just the three of us.
I have so many pics I don't know what to do with them all. I'll post some now, and some in a second post and call it good!
Addy did great on the 5 and a half hour plane ride. Way better then we expected. Even with a great flight, we were exhausted arriving in Orlando. Check out Addy's temper tantrum at baggage claim. We were glad when this day of travel was done. :)
Our first morning was so crazy and so fun at the same time. Getting everyone up and ready and fed - out the door and to the park was hectic. But the joy on the kids faces as we watched the opening ceremony was worth it all. I had tears in my eyes as the park opened. Here are some shots of that first morning.
All ready to head out:
Unloading the vans and riding the monorail (Addy called it a choo-choo train the whole time):
Addy is decked out and ready to go:
Magic Kingdom:
The kids in front of the castle:
One morning I watched Addy and Rylee while everyone else went on Soarin'. (Rylee is about 6 weeks older then Addy.) This was a special time for me to slow down and really watch as Addy and Rylee interacted. Boy did these two enjoy hanging out. They chased each other around, watched the ducks, picked flowers and ate snacks.
Here is Little getting ready to ride Pirates for the first time. She loves the "Yo-ho-yo-ho a pirate's life for me" song . . . she begs for me to sing it to her over and over again.
Here is Grammy and Plumbly on one of our first rides, the Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. They were such amazing helpers to all of us the entire trip. They were always willing to run an errand, hold someone, entertain the kids, etc. Thanks so much for your wonderful hearts. Addy had such a great time hanging out with Grammy and Plumbly.
This is my attempt to get Addy at the end of the Pooh ride. This is pretty much how Addy looked at the end of every ride. She'd say "more, more, please", or " I want more Pooh".
Here are all the kids checking out the "mine" birds in front of Nemo. Addy loved Nemo, I think this was her favorite ride (or maybe tied with Dumbo).
Here is what Addy would look like after a couple of hours. She would be really hot, if she got stuck in her stroller for any period of time she'd get bored and start playing with her shoes and/or socks.
Here is Grammy helping Addy and Rylee at the playground at Animal Kingdom.
Here are the girls again, playing in the imagination room.
And here are just some random shots that are pretty self-explanatory:
Finally, I love this picture. One afternoon we were going through a trail at Animal Kingdom to see the animals and as we came out of this cave, we ran into some Disney friends giving out these hats. Addy loves her mickey ears.
Top Ten Disney Memories of 2008:
1. Walking into the Magic Kingdom on the first day. I had tears in my eyes as we headed down Main Street. It was a very magical moment.
2. Addy's fearless spirit. Addy enjoyed every single ride. She had no fear, and was willing to go on anything. She watched every show and didn't get scared by the fireworks, flames, villians, etc.
3. The food (hello, did you think I'd forget to write about food). Carmel apples, mickey rice crispie treats, hot cocoa, wings, all of it was yummy!
4. Twins. Carmel apple induced neck cramps are real, it isn't only Scott that can do this . . .
5. Sharing 8 days with family. It was so great to catch up and share such a great experience together. Plus, who else would be okay that Addy pooped on their son (sorry Trevor).
6. Date night. Grammy and Plumbly watched the kids on two different nights so that Chris, Tara, Scott and I could go out on double dates. This was a very special opportunity for us. The first night we headed out to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not-so-Scary Halloween Party. It was so much fun. It poured rain the whole night and we didn't let it stop us for a minute. I think the highlight was when I convinced everyone how romantic Dumbo can be at night with the twinkling lights of Fantasyland surrounding us. Wow, was it romantic. Rain pelting us so hard we couldn't actually open our eyes, and I think at one point when I tried to talk to Scott I also drowned in rain water. VERY romantic. The second night we just got ice cream and snacks and talked, this was not as adventurous, but was just as memorial for the great conversation and time together.
7. Back pack. I swore I would never leash my child. But the closer we got to the trip the more I was worried about losing her in the parks. So, I got one of those puppy backpacks. It was the best 15 dollars I ever spent. Both Rylee and Addy had them and we were able to allow them to walk around and enjoy the sights and sounds, but not get too far away. Addy loved hers and called it her tail. She'd say "tail please" when she wanted to walk. It was so safe and easy.
8. Fantasmic. People have often heard me talk about this wonderful nightly spectacular, but it never fails to move me. Seeing Taylor's expression when the pincesses came out, or hearing the crowd oh and awe when Mickey does the grand fanale - is truly priceless. It is so magical. Addy enjoyed the entire show and asked for "more Mickey and lights" when it was done.
9. Characters. There is nothing like seeing these characters live. Watching the kids get excited is so fun. Addy loved the characters - before we actually got up to them, and then after we left. You can see she isn't loving them the moment she is actually with them. Of course less then 30 seconds after we moved on she started crying to go back and see "Goofty and Ploto" again.
10. Getting two weeks of special time together with Scott and Addy. (Truly it wouldn't matter where we were as long as we are together.)
Thanks to Chris, Tara, Frank and Nancy for joining us! (Tara has some great shots at her blog too, she has a great camera and is a great photographer, so enjoy if you stop by.)
We are excited to be home and ready for a great holiday season.
